(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a door mirror for use with cars and, more particularly, it relates to a motor-driven collapsible door mirror whose mirror housing projected from the outer surface of a car body can be automatically swung and collapsed along the outer surface of the car body when it is operated inside the car.
(2) Prior Art
As shown in FIG. 10, the car door mirror is usually projected by a distance l from the outermost surface of the car body. The door mirror D is of the plane mirror type and it is located near his visual point of the driver. It is therefore needed that the mirror is made large-sized for the purpose of obtaining a sight area large enough as compared with the fender mirror which is of the convex mirror type. The mirror housing in which the door mirror is housed is thus made large-sized and as the result, the door mirror D is projected from the outermost surface of the car body.
When the door mirror D is projected like this, however, the projected portion of the door mirror has touched matters and persons outside, thereby causing unexpected accidents.
Further, it is needed that the capacity for carrying the cars is increased only by their projected mirror portions when they are transported, thereby making their transportation cost high. In addition, their projected mirror portions make it troublesome for them to be garaged.
In order to eliminate these drawbacks, there has been provided a door mirror of the buffer type which is provided with such a holder mechanism as disclosed by a Japanese Utility Model Application (Disclosure No. 58-33339), for example. This door mirror comprises a mirror housing connected to a base by a hinge plate, and two coil springs for holding and urging the mirror housing to the base. When an impact is added to the door mirror, the mirror housing is swung against the coil springs in the direction in which the impact is added, thereby buffering the impact.
When the car is transported or garaged, the mirror housing is manually and forcedly swung against the coil springs to form a clearance between the mirror housing and the base, in which the holder mechanism is interposed to hold the mirror housing swung toward the base or collapsed along the outer side surface of the car.
In the case of this prior art, however, the mirror must be swung by hand and outside the car. When the mirror is to be swung many times on a rainy day, for example, the driver feels troublesome and sick of it. In addition, the holder mechanism is needed as an independent means, thereby making it difficult to control the parts.